Mel Gibson has praised "generous and kind" Robert Downey Jr. for speaking up for him after he was "blacklisted" by Hollywood following an antisemitic rant in 2006.
Mel Gibson has praised "generous and kind" Robert Downey Jr. for speaking up for him after he was "blacklisted" by Hollywood.
The 'Braveheart' star saw his career plummet in 2006 after he made antisemitic comments when being arrested for driving under the influence, but in 2011, the 'Oppenheimer' actor brought his pal out of the showbiz wilderness when he invited him to present him with the American Cinematheque Award.
And Mel will never forget his friend's "bold" generosity.
In a profile of Downey for Esquire magazine, Mel said: “One time, I got into a bit of a sticky situation where it kind of ended my career. I was drunk in the back of a police car and I said some stupid [stuff], and all of a sudden: blacklisted. I’m the poster boy for cancelled.
“A couple of years into that he invited me to some kind of award he was getting—we always had this kind of seesaw thing, where if he was on the wagon, I was falling off, and if I was on the wagon, he was falling off. So I was pretty much nonexistent in Hollywood at the time, and he stood up and spoke for me. It was a bold and generous and kind gesture. I loved him for that.”
During his acceptance speech at the event, the 'Iron Man' star called for the crowd to "forgive" Mel.
He asked the audience to join him “unless you are completely without sin, in which case you picked the wrong industry, in forgiving my friend his trespasses, offering the same clean slate you have me, and allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contributions to our collective art without shame.”
And in 2014, Downey, now 59, argued his friend had "changed so much" since his notorious outburst and is a "fundamentally different guy" now.
He told Deadline: “Nobody should make a case for somebody who just wants forgiveness but hasn’t changed, but he’s a fundamentally different guy.
“I think it was just the very worst aspects of somebody’s psyche being treated as though they were the blanket statement about a person.”
On the same day that Glastonbury welcomed back Margate's adopted sons, The Libertines, Margate itself put on it's very own Leisure Festival as it...
Oasis fans hoping to get tickets for the band's reunion shows are being asked a trivia question to secure access to a pre-sale ballot.
Sheffield's very own all girl group Pretty Fierce are still on a high after the recent release of their debut single - 'Ready For Me'.
Three nights before the end of his current tour Will Varley returned to his home town of Deal to delight a sold out crowd in The Astor Theatre.
With only a few days to go before Portsmouth based songstress and producer WYSE releases her new single, 'Belladonna', we caught up with her to find...
Colorado raised, Glasgow educated and Manchester based Bay Bryan is nothing if not a multi-talented, multi-faceted artist performing as both...
Former Marigolds band member Keelan Cunningham has rediscovered his love of music with his new solo project Keelan X.
Wiltshire singer-songwriter Luke De Sciscio, formally known as Folk Boy, is set to release is latest album - 'The Banquet' via AntiFragile Music on...
Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...
It’s part of modern life that divorce and separation is part of many families and...
In 1919 Desmond Doss was born, he lived a quiet life and always wanted to...
It's been four years since Mel Gibson played a lead role in a movie, and...
John Link hasn't been the best father, up until recently he's constantly been on the...
An arch approach makes this bonkers thriller rather enjoyable, even if it never quite cracks...
Striking a tone somewhere between the po-faced original and the silly Part 2, this rampaging...
The cast of 'The Expendables 3' discuss the upcoming action film in a short featurette....
Barney Ross is the fearless leader of elite New Orleans mercenary team The Expendables who...
A formidable group of New Orleans mercenaries led by the no-nonsense Barney Ross are starting...
Robert Rodriguez returns to Grindhouse territory with this B-movie spoof sequel that mixes hilariously knowing...
Machete Cortez is a formidable former member of the Mexican Federal Police and happens to...